Darkness Before Dawn

Egyptian Origins

Tuesday, April 12, 2005
Domino University

Yugi breathed a sigh of relief as Atem entered the room, still walking stiffly, but not hobbling as he had the day before. The swelling around his bruised right eye had gone down enough for him to crack it open a bit. Yugi's heart chilled when Atem again sat a few rows away from him.

'Doesn't he wanna work with me anymore? What'd I do wrong?' Yugi thought sadly.

He thought about moving over next to Atem and confronting him, but decided not to do it in class with all the other students around. He would wait for lunch and confront him then.

Accordingly, at lunch, Yugi made his way over to the oak tree. Surely enough, Atem sat under it, looking over the papers Yugi had given him yesterday. Abruptly, the Egyptian raised his head and fixed his gaze on Yugi. At this, Yugi slowed down and approached cautiously, standing a respectable distance from Atem.

"Hi..." Yugi ventured.

"Yugi... I had no right to snap at you yesterday. I... was in a bad state of mind and lashed out at you. I'm sorry," Atem apologized, lowering his head.

Taking this as a positive sign, Yugi moved in closer and sat down beside his dark twin.

"Aw. That's OK..." he dismissed.

"No. It is not OK!" snapped Atem, raising blazing eyes to Yugi, who flinched at the sudden change in his demeanor.

Atem paused and sighed deeply, getting his emotions in check as he had no desire to chase Yugi away two days in a row.

Seeing that Atem was struggling with himself, Yugi looked forward and waited for Atem to make the next move.

"In case you haven't noticed, I'm not very sociable," Atem began softly.

"Me neither. I'm really only friends with Jou and Bakura," Yugi interjected.

"Hn! You're one up on me then," replied Atem with a bitter smile.

"Huh?"

"You have friends," Atem elaborated.

"So do you," countered Yugi.

Atem blinked and cocked his head.

"Me, silly. I'm your friend!" Yugi declared jubilantly.

Then he paused and looked forward again.

"Er, that is... if you want me to be..." he ended quietly.

The sound of rubbing leather caused Yugi to look over at Atem, who had moved closer to him. Yugi's heart began to beat warmly in his chest.

"I... would like that very much," Atem said in a trembling voice. "However, you must know from the beginning to expect more episodes like yesterday's."

Yugi thought for a moment. Should he invite Atem to his place? Judging by the Egyptian's demeanor, he decided to wait.

"OK. How about this: If you're in a... not social mood, just don't sit next to me in morning class and I'll know to stay away," Yugi agreed.

A wry smile lit Atem's features.

"The word is 'unsociable' and that will definitely work. Thank you, Yugi."

"You're welcome," squeaked Yugi at the sight of the mild amusement that now lit Atem's rose petal irises.

The two lapsed into companionable silence for a few moments, enjoying each other's company once again.

"Hey, Atem?" Yugi ventured.

"Yes?" returned Atem.

"How do you say 'I'm sorry' in French?" Yugi asked.